Turkish Middlemen 'Sell Oil Stolen by Daesh' to Europe

Turkish middlemen are selling some of illegal oil they purchase from Daesh, also known as ISIL, to European countries, including Great Britain and Italy, expert Mustafa Tekik asserted.

Oil and petroleum products are transported to Turkey through a wide network of middlemen.

"It is well-known that some [Turkish] businessmen are involved in reselling oil, smuggled by Daesh, to some European countries. I don't think that the state or energy giant TUPRAS would be so careless so as to overtly purchase and refine Daesh petroleum. It is far more likely that some businessmen are involved in this process," Tekik told Sputnik.

Approximately 100,000 – 150,000 barrels of oil is delivered to Turkey daily, according to Tekik's estimates. He believes that small illegal refineries are quite capable of processing this amount of fuel.

.@Patriotic_Me 3000 oil trucks. ISIS <->Turkey route was busy like rush hour in NY;) yet somehow US did not bomb it pic.twitter.com/ox9sPzZ5fz

— Alex Strouss (@AskiTan) 3 декабря 2015

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"We believe that oil [bought from Daesh] is mainly kept in İskenderun, the city in the Hatay province, and the port city of Mersin, the capital of the eponymous province. We think that some of it is resold through middlemen to countries, including the UK and Italy," Tekik added.

Turkey has long been the main destination for petroleum products, stolen by Daesh from numerous oilfields in Iraq and Syria. In early December, the Russian Ministry of Defense released satellite images showing columns of trucks on their way from the territories controlled by the militants to Turkey.

Btw Putin has received more evidence of ISIS oil supply to Turkey. @rterdogan_ar when are you going to resign?? we're waiting

— Sel (@4selentek6) 3 декабря 2015

​Ankara denies it is involved in illegal deals with Daesh, a terrorist group which is still controlling large parts of Iraq and neighboring Syria.

Erdogan oil

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